banks. >> the surf is kicking up. earl will no doubt affect a lot of people who were hoping to spend time at the beach this labor day weekend. we begin our live team coverage with veronica johnson in the storm center. >> here's the latest on the track of the storm. and what's happening on infrared satellite. the storm system is down to 125 miles per hour. it a category 3 now. it is 300 miles off the center of the storm system and you can see how it is taking aim on north carolina. it is the outer banks that will feel probably the worst effects of this storm in terms of wind and some rain. then eventually into new england. we'll start feeling the winds around hear tomorrow. with some of the latest on what's happening in the outer banks, let's to go jay gray at kill devil hills, north carolina.

>> good evening. since the afternoon we've seen the clouds rolling in and the surf getting higher here. conditions that are sure to only get worse as the storm moves closer to the coast. >> as the outer bands of earl begin to brush the outer banks, a sense of urgency. like the surf here, it's growing. homes and businesses boarding up. families packing up.

the growing waves are a lure for high-flying surfers and apparently for some visitors who refuse to leave. snr we're going to hang in here and battle the storm with everyone else. hopefully it won't be too bad. >> it is a hope shared by thousands. many who are making the safe move to higher ground along the atlantic coast. those cars are lined up on highway 12 which is the only way out of this area. that's why there was an early call for evacuations here. but now with earl making its way in, time is definitely running out. in kill devil hills, north carolina, back to you. >> thanks a lot. here's how this system will play out as it moves up the coast. not making landfall but brushing the coast with its hurricane force winds first for the outer banks of north carolina. that's tonight.

the outer bank spots likeñr rodanthe and around nags head. up to 36 miles an hour. the wind for the coast, the outer banks, 60 to 75 miles per hour. the waves, 15 to 20 feet. rain, possible flooding, especially in the back by as and around albemarle and pemlico sound. then a half toñi about an inch r the coastal areas of virginia, maryland and delaware where waves could easily to go 8 or perhaps 13 feet. winds at the coast, 30 to 50 miles per hour. that will be again, most of friday. but a bigger system for new england, spots like cape cod, could get the heavy rain out of the system around the two to four inches. we'll talk more about that later. the coastal flood watch, it starts at 6:00 p.m. and it goes through the overnight period. we'll talk about the high tide times coming up in a few minutes. we're already seeing some of the effects of earl. its high clouds. you can seeçó across maryland, e

northern neck making their way up through area. some of those outer bands meanwhile are forecasting increasing clouds. will drop to 80 degrees by 9:00 p.m. after another hot day. 79 degrees by 11:00 p.m. higher than normal as we look at the tides. labor day weekend, a huge cool-down. wait until you see the four-day forecast. throughout the 4:00 hour, the 5:00, the 6:00, two, both kammerer and myself will be taking your questions live. your questions about hurricanes and the effects on earl here. see you back in a few minutes. >> all right. thanks. >> as hurricane earl moves along the eastern seaboard, travellers are watching its track for the holiday weekend. at least five of the big airlines have waived change fees for customers, flying into the path of the hurricane. and several amtrak routes between virginia's tidewater area and newport news, they

canceled because of the storm. the coast guard today stlez appears to be a new oil leak from another rig in the gulf of mexico. a fire was reported this morning on a rig platform owned by mariner energy. it is about 80 miles south of the central louisiana coastline. the 13 crew members aboard all made it off alive. this afternoon federal officials said an oil sheen about 100 feet wideñiçó and one mile long is r thatting. it is still burning but it is not clear if it was caused by an explosion or something else. this is happening west of the bp disaster site that killed 11 workers in april and spilled 206 middle gallons of oil into the gulf. >> we'll have more details about what happened inside the discovery channel's building during that hostage stand-off yesterday. he 43-year-old james lee had

four explosive devices strapped to his chest. he made threatening actions. this morning workers allowed back inside the building for a meeting with discovery executives and to see grief counsellors. megan mcgrath has been outside all morning. >> reporter: when james lee burst into the lobby, he was waving a handgun and had several explosive devices strapped to his chest. today we are learning more about those home made bombs and their lethal potential. >> he had four devices on him. there were two propane tanks, the kind you would use going camping. the propane tank hz pipe with shotgun shells attached. i had pipe bombs that contained fireworks type explosive. >> reporter: for nearly four hours, lee held a security guard and two employees hostage.

when an nbc news producer called discovery's general line, lee picked up the telephone and started talking. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it -- i'll explode. >> reporter: the stand-off came to an end when police say lee pointed a gun at the hostages, prompting s.w.a.t. team members to open fire. lee was killed. overnight, police continued to collect physical evidence in the building. officers could be seen in the lobby and searching the bushes around the entrance. as morning wore on, investigators loaded bags and boxes of evidence into a waiting van. a section of wayne avenue remains closed this morning while the building has been given the all-clear, police continue to control the lobby area where the confrontationçó took place. employees were able to return to

their offices this morning and at 1:00 the building closed. it won't reopen until tuesday. in silver spring, news4. >> we're learning more about james lee, the man behind the stand-off. he had previous addresses in hawaii, california and washington state. but he had lived in our area for the past several years. he listed the shepherd's table as his address. that's a local homeless resource center in silver spring. in 2008, he organized this protest outside the discovery channel and allegedly offered money to people that he had met through the shepherd's table. >> i understand that some of our clients did know mr. lee from 2008 when he did offer them money to protest. i've not heard of something like that before. it was unusual. it happened. it's regretful. >> officials at the center say

lee never stayed there. after the 2008 protest, lee was arrested for disorderly conduct. a judge gave him a six-month suspended sentence and warned him co-face 60 days in jail if he ever again went within 500 feet of that building. >> our coverage of the long taking at the discovery headquarters continues throughout news4. we're standing by for a live news conference by police in montgomery county with new details about the hostage taker and what transpired yesterday. drivers in virginia are finally, finally able to renew their licenses again. the dmv computer glitch is fixed. the problem kept thousands of virginians from getting their licenses renewed. as of today, all 74 dmv offices in the commonwealth are fully operational but word has been slow to get out. the arlington office was empty today. the dmv offices are extending their hours to clear up the backlog. some offices will even be open sunday and labor day. locations and hours are listed on the dmv's website.

fire officials now tell us a blaze at a northwest d.c. art museum was an know. flames were shooting from the roof of the phillips collection on 21st street around 8:30 this morning. a museum spoke person tells us, it was renovation work that was being done and that's a possible cause. some artwork was damaged but not seriously. no one was hurt. the gallery will be closed until further notice. when we continue, washingtoó fans have a start to watch the team. dan hellie will join us for the preview. the strange actions of an airline pilot get him pulled off a plane and delay the flight foi hours. and the hotel that has banned a certain hotel heiress. what paris hilton is saying.

all right, redskins fans. you have a late night ahead of you. the game doesn't start until 10:00 tonight. it is the fourth and final preseason game before the season begins next sunday night. dan hellie joins us with what we can expect out west tonight. >> everybody says, this is the final preseason game. the for you game. nobody will play. you know what you'll have? you'll have back-ups fighting

for their careers. there will be ten guys that are on the bubble who could make this team with a great game or might not with a terrible game. so it will be a very interesting to watch them. last week, a final tune-up for the starters. this week a final audition for the back-ups. they won't play much, including donavan mcnabb and clinton portis won't play at all twoox cuts are coming this weekend as they trim the roster down to the final 53. keep your eye on the competition at running back and wide receiver. could be some talented young players at both spots who don't make the team. three men who have no worries, santana moss, donavan mcnabb and clinton portis. portis sprained his ankle against the jets but did practice this week. he look fine. portis had the starting spot on lockdown for months. the battle for the third running back job could be determined by how thing go tonight on mcnabb. wouldn't have played even if he was fully healthy. he is recovering from a sprained

ankle but there is no chance, no chance that he misses the dallas game. he will be good to çógo. the back-up will be rex grossman. the third string will be john beck who will get plenty of time tonight. the only wide receiver guaranteed to be in the starting lineup when the regular season starts, santana moss. if he plays tonight, it will be a very limited role. right now, devin thomas who expected to be opposite moss at the starting receiver position interesting fourth receiver on the depth chart. he will get one more shot tonight to prove himself. don't forget, you can catch all the action right here on nbc 4. kick yourself at 10:00. put the kids to bed. drink a couple red bulls and stay up late with them. we're going to be here with you right after the game, too. it will be a lot of fun. >> it is on to sunday and the real deal. the next one, next sunday, the cowboys. >> and that game also on nbc 4. >> the prime time game of the

season. this one counts. >> and mcnabb will be there. >> got to be. but 22, going to have a tough morning tomorrow. >> going from 75 to 53. they will probably make most of those cuts on saturday, not tomorrow. they're really trying to keep the dream alive. >> it will be fun to watch. we'll see you at 5:00. >> there is a lot of truth in the old saying about an apple a day keeping the doctor away. however, getting the kids to buy into eating them can sometime be a little difficult. with help, how to get the kids to teeth an and will some unusual ways to serve the apple. >> the health benefits of apples and apple products date back to medieval time. they provide fiber, mineral and fiber. the dietary guideline for americans recommend that we eat more fruits and vegetables than

from any other food group. for adults, about three and a half to six and a half cups per day for better health. one of the biggest mistakes consumers make when they get home is throwing them on the counter top like this. the best way to store your apples is in the frig, preferably in the fruit and vegetable compartment away from strong older vegetables. if stored this way they can be kept fresh for up to four to six weeks. whenever possible, don't feel the apple. two thirds of the finer and most of the anti-okay dants are found in the peel. recent studies have linked apples with weight loss, help prevent heart disease, cancer, even asthma. swell improving immunity and digestion help thanks to pectin. an apple a day keeps the doctor away. >> didn't those dishes look good? >> they did. those are very ripe apples. >> to see it again, visit our home page and search apples and

enjoy. >> i'm not seeing it again. i'm going out and sbhi apples. actor michael douglas is talking about his cancer. what his doctor says about his chances of beating them. >> and the top spots where local travellers are headed to spend the holiday weekends and the latest on the impact you'll be getting from earl. >> and a reminder, doug kammerer is hosting a web chat on the hurricane continuing through 6:30 this evening to take part, visit our home page. nbcwashington.com. look inside a more than 17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last

year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it. the future has always been our business. and the future begins now.

the arrival of hurricane earl will likely put a damp order a lot of holiday plans. that's becauseñhq19q% beaches are among the top five driving destinations for washingtonians over the long holiday weekend. according to a survey by trip adviser.com, virginia beach is the number one driving destination. atlantic city, number two, followed by owing city. philadelphia comes in at the fourth favorite driving destination for washingtonians and williamsburg rounds out the top five.

>> what about sticking around hear? >> first of all, we'll be just fine for saturday, sun, monday. friday is the big day for us. we'll see winds locally 10 to 20-mile-an-hour and at the coast 40 to 50 miles per hour. we're talking during the break, guys in inaugurate, they're doing a lot of prep work up there. we've got some video to show you, by the time that system gets up to new england, it is probably going to be a category 1 or 2. a much weaker system than what the outer banks will get later tonight. the thing is we'll get some higher gusts coming through. a lot of damage and beach erosion. at the same time, for spots like cape cod and nantucket, they'll get a lot of rain up there. probably more than what the outer banks get. my forecast across new england, two to four inches of rain as you'll see in just a moment. here locally also, not only are we going to get the windy conditions tomorrow but we'll be looking at for the next couple

of tide cycles, higher than normal tide. one to three feet above normal. 94 is the current temperature. another hot one today. it's been a sticky one for us today. look at the heat index value. it feel like 97 degrees outside. the dew point temperature at 64 degrees. relative humidity at 38%. we've got a wind out of the south at nine miles per hour. so we're not going to really get wind during the overnight but we'll see the clouds. those are the high clouds already coming over the area from earl. 70 degrees by faye:00 a.m. 72 by 7:00 a.m. it will be plenty warm tomorrow. then we'll be cooling. on we've got 79 degrees currently in chicago. that is because there was a cold front there. a little trough. it is that little dip that will come through and help push hopefully earl, its center, a little bit away from the coast as it makes its journey up

toward the northern mid-atlantic states and eventually new england. right between high pressure that is out of the mid-atlantic as well as that trough again making its way westerly and off the coast. here's a look at the radar. you can see virginia beach getting a few showers and areas around jacksonville there as well as wilmington and myrtle beach. its layered, the center come very close to the coast. still moving northwestward. eventual yes we'll start moving northward. look at the wind gusts in wrightsville beach, north carolina, at 36 miles per hour. that's the wind gust for today. the sustained wind at 31-mile-per-hour. 38-mile-per-hour wind gusts for bald head island. here's what i'm expecting. possible flooding continues right there. those areas around nags head and rodanthe, they could get between one and three inches of rain. 73 to 75 miles an hour. 4p!hen that system comes up the coast, right at ocean city.

areas like delaware, a half to an inch of rain. and winds between 30 and 50 miles per hour. for eastern long island, for nantucket, cape cod, two to four inch rains with winds at least 50 to 60 miles per hour. here's a look at the futurecast. there's the storm system driving up the coast early tomorrow morning. probably areas, the northern neck way east of 95 getting a few showers. there will be some heavier rain for owing city and delaware early tomorrow morning. then the cold front comes on through. that will start to cool us down. so most of our rain chances will be well east of i-95. that's where some of the strongest winds will be, too. there's the coast, salisbury, ocean city, atlantic city, too. 30 to 50-mile-per-hour winds. the forecast then, 89 to 80 will be dropping off. it will be a nice evening. high clouds increasing across there. mainly dry with partly cloudy

skies. 66 to 74 degrees and then showers mainly on the eastern shore tomorrow, early afternoon. it will be turning breezy here locally. breezy to windy. a high again of 90 degrees. as you take a look at the four-day forecast, a big cool-down. it will be wind yoi saturday. 79 and windy. you know what that will feel like. at least we'll have some sunshine with this. sunday we're breezy. the high 80 is in for labor day. the high, 85 degrees. even at the coast, the system will be out of here on saturday. of course, they'll be looking at a big mess left. >> yeah. >> the air will be refreshing. >> the air will be refreshing. of course once again, we'll be both doug and myself, doug kammerer will be answering folks' questions live. if you go to nbcwashington doc about earl's impact. locally for us here and maybe if you're traveling, we'll give you a little forecast. >> thanks. >> still to come, there is new information coming out about yesterday's hostage taking and

discovery headquarters. we're standing by for a live news conference. and find out about the high-tech way some school are easing parent fears by tracking students as they get on and off school buses.

welcome back to news4 at 4:00. i'm pat lawson muse.

>> i'm jim handly. police are still gathering evidence from that discovery headquarters in silver spring 24 hours after a gunman with explosives held three people hostage. >> the stand-off lasted four hours until police shot and killed the suspect. he's been identified as 43-year-old james lee. workers were allowed back in the building for a few hours this morning for a company-wide meeting with the president. there were grief counsellors on hand for anyone who needed them. >> employees are being allowed to stay home until after the labor day holiday. the discovery building will reopen on tuesday. meanwhile, montgomery county officials say james lee's body we are standing by for a news conference in the meantime.

>> chris has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: the all clear has been given at the discovery channel building in silver spring, maryland, after a night of searching for explosives. by morning police had discovered four bombs james lee had dmaerd backpacks, including two made with propane. >> they had pipes with shotgun shells attached to them. >> reporter: they're also gathering '47 when lee stormed into the building and took three of 1,900 workers as hostages. early on, lee ended up on the phone with an nbc producer who had called discovery as word sbred the ordeal. >> no one has been shot. >> do you have a gun? >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body, ready to go off. i have a device, if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll blow.

>> that producer was rob rivas who had police alerted and was instructed to keep lee talking. >> they wanted us to continue chatting with him and it was my fault if he was talking to me, he wasn't doing anything else in the building. >> after ten minutes, lee ended the conversation. but the stand-off continued for nearly another four hours. until lee was seen pointing his gun at one of his hostages. >> at that ñrpoint, our tactica units moved in. they shot the suspect. the suspect is deceased. >> reporter: lee's body was removed thursday morning, too. now investigators are looking at his long running beef with the discovery channel over a lack of programming about global warming and animal extinction. nbc news. >> and our coverage of the hostage taking at discovery headquarters continues at the top of the hour. pat collins has new details about the devices lee had strapped to his chest and about the weapons he was using.

we're standing by for the latest in a live news conference. the first new round of middle east peace talks has been described as productive andbu second round has already been scheduled. secretary of state hillary rodham clinton opened the talks this morning at the state department. she said the u.s. would be an active part in the talks but would not impose a solution. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and palestinian president mahmoud abbas conducted face to face talks them agreed to meet again september 14th for the second round of talks. a few schools in illinois are trying to calm parents' nerves with a new system to track their kids. two school districts are outbidding schools and kids with z-pass. basically the kids wear electronic tracking devices on their backpacks. they swipe those badge when's they get on or off the school bus. that lets parents and school

officials track them. >> they can locate their kids, the bus, that second. >> i feel 100% secure to have my son go on the bus every day. >> this reminds me of preschool. >> reporter: officials hope the system cuts down on incidents of not knowing where students are. >> an interesting way to track them. >> sure is. nx there is more to come on news4 at 4:00 this afternoon, including an update on the latest track of earl and we'll see how it is affecting virginia beach. what paris hilton is saying about news that she has been banned from a vegas resort.

customers will get another opportunity to speak their minds. they are holding two meetings with the reliability and quality of the utility company. over the summer, several storms caused major power outages that affected nearly half a million people. many customers attended a public hearing in rockville earlier this week. the second public hearing takes place tonight in largo. it starts at 6:00 at the prince george's community college. we're keeping an eye on hurricane earl which is making its presence known along the atlantic coastline. this was the scene in virginia

beach this afternoon. the powerful storm whipping up some big waves. red warning flags are out along the beach. still, some people can't resist. it will likely be a busy holiday weekend for life guards, hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been issued from north carolina to as far north as canada. meanwhile, veronica, you've got your eye on the storm and how it will affect the washington area. >> exactly. but we're going to interrupt you and go to the press conference about the hostage taking yesterday. >> i think any community around this country would probably shatter and be quite fearful of. there is a reason to be fearful. there is danger. there was a challenge for the entire communicate. and we had lives at stake. but i'm so proud of our

montgomery county law enforcement and public safety officials who acted under some very unusual and difficult circumstances to bring what many believe to be the ultimate nightmare to a conclusion that although involved the loss of life, but did so in such a way that protected the broader community and many others in harm's way. the police department, our fire department, and not only those in montgomery county but those from around the region. both the state and at the national level. so many people were actively engaged yesterday. some that you know about in terms of the public safety officials. some that you probably do not recognize. some of the people behind the scenes. our red shirt patrols in montgomery county who are out directing traffic and people working behind the scenes. all of those together helped us

to at least leave this scene yesterday and to be able to stand here today, to say that we had a conclusion that i think we truly can be thankful for. i am so thankful for chief mange. i am so thankful for all of our law enforcement person heel acted so bravely, dedication and commitment. this was not just an effort at the state level and the local level but also involved the federal level. i'm going to ask our congressman to come forward. he wants to say an acknowledgement as well. then we'll turn it over to our chiefs. >> thank you, mr. executive. i think it is very fitting we come together as a community today to express our gratitude.

to the police, the firefighters, to all the emergency responders and law enforcement personnel. at the state level, the local leefl responded yesterday with such courage and such professionalism. they took a very bad and dangerous situation and prevented it from getting a lot worse. discovery communications is an anchor in our community. it is an important part of silver spring. an important part of montgomery county. and i want to applaud them for having the foresight for putting in place many years ago a contingency plan for emergency situations like this. but most of all, this was a solemn reminder of the risks that the men and women in uniform take every day when they

get up. and it is an important reminder of the fact that we owe them our support and our gratitude, and we thank not only them but their families who are prepared for that sacrifice. so i'm very pleased to stand 28 chief manger, chief bowers, with law enforcement community, and on behalf of some of the representatives from this area in the state and local and federal level, to salute those emergency responders to express our gratitude for responding so well and so appropriately as the county executive indicated, any time there is a loss of life that's regrettable. in this situation, the actions they took prevented the greater loss of life. prevented the loss of innocent

life. and this community is very thankful for the actions they took yesterday and the actions and risks they take every day. so i think it is very appropriate and fitting that we gather today to express our thanks. and with that i will turn it back over to the county executive. >> i'm going to ask the president of the county council and the district representatives to come forward and say a few words. >> yesterday a montgomery county public safety officers reminded the nation what real heroes we have on the street every day. we are so proud of our public safety leaders and our men and women in the street. yesterday was a day of courage and solutions by trained professionals. we are so grateful to them and we are so glad they are here

with us in montgomery county. >> thank you very much. i represent the silver spring area and i live in silver spring. and on behalf of the many thousands of residents in silver spring, we are here to offer our thanks and our gratitude to all our public safety personnel. they were extraordinary yesterday. we expected nothing less from them because they are consummate professionals. i also want to say a brief thanks to the school system and also to ride-on bus and the operators who were also incredibly brave and did some really great work yesterday afternoon on. behalf of all of them and all the citizens of montgomery county, especially in silver spring, we want to say thank you. >> i'm just here as another elected official member of the county council to show my appreciation for the personnel. they did an outstanding job yesterday and our thoughts are with those who were taken hostage yesterday. they had a terrible, terrible

day. and our thoughts are with them and with the officers who had to take the ultimate step. no one wants to go to work thinking they may have to take a life but i'm very confident the right steps were taken. we're very proud of chief manger, we're very proud of chief bowers as the county executive said and i'm just happy to share my appreciation as one of the elected officials. >> thank you. i would ask chief manger to come forward and say a few words and give you a little update. he'll be followed by chief bowers. chief? >> good afternoon. a couple updates since we've last spoken. as we continue to investigate this case, we're trying to determine obviously if mr. lee was acting alone, if he had any help with the explosive devices. just trying to tie up any loose ends that we have.

one item of information, as we've been able to examine the thing that he had, we have reported that he had a handgun. in fact, we found a second weapon later after the incident was over. both weapons have turned out to be starter pistols. i know that chief bowers will give you an update on some of the, what the bomb squad has been doing today and the results of their investigation. our investigation is winding down. we're going to continue to interview any witnesses as we finish up our part of the case. i have with me today captain darrell mcswain. captain mcswain was the incident commander and the special operations division commander, and was the overall incident commander of yesterday's event. >> i'll just finish by echoing

something that congressman van hollen said, there is great team work in this county. and in fact there is great team work in this region. for many of you that saw the cars that were here, some of the vehicles that were here, they said things like metro transit, maryland state police, virginia state police, a lot of federal, state and local agencies. we train together, we work together and we support each other when we have incidents like this. when the region has training events that we do on a regular basis, when thing like this happen, we come with all the resources we need. no one department has it all. but together we've got everything that we need. and i just want to thank all of the public safety agencies. both police and fire, homeland security that came together dwroed assist us and bring this case to an end.

>> montgomery county fire rescue, first, let me acknowledge chief manger and his department for the tremendous leadership and the tremendous job that they did yesterday. chief, well done. well done. >> secondly, i want to give you and provide an update regarding the ongoing investigative efforts, which as chief manger mentioned, this is a collaborative and cooperative effort between the montgomery county police, the montgomery county fire and explosive investigative unit, as well as other national capital region bomb squads. today for some very intensive investigative work, residents here in the county were located and four additional devices, of which we can tie individual to right now, were obtained from

the residence and subsequently successfully detonated remotely from the residence and any other area of life safety issues in the county. in addition to that, the investigators continue to look for a vehicle that was owned and or operated by the individual yesterday. that is still something that the investigators are looking for. more information that followed regarding a potential description. but not necessarily right now. they're still gathering some intel on that. as chief mention asked it is 57 so very important as well as the executive, we pulled resources not only from within the county but also the region. most importantly, what montgomery county fire and rescue and the police department do on a routine basis, is that we train together and we

collaborate and cooperate on a daily basis. just recently within the last 60 days, we actually trained for the very event that occurred yesterday. and captain mcswain as well as captain luther reynolds, as well as our assistant chief scott goldstein are to be credited with making sure that our troops, the troops that responded yesterday were well trained and equipped to be able to, if you will, pull all this incident successfully. that concludes my piece regarding today's eswrents the investigative effort. i would like to provide one other additional piece of information that is newsworthy. we've just been officially notified by fema that our maryland task force one team will be deployed at 10:00 this evening from the montgomery county fire and rescue training

academy to go to massachusetts and i hope i said that correctly. and the purpose of that deployment is because of hurricane earl and the potential for it to be category 2 when it makes land in the new england area. we will take an 80-person team to the massachusetts area leaving, departing from the public service training academy this evening around 10:00 p.m. right now the team is assembling and all the logistical efforts and the things are necessary are being presently done to be able to equip and ready the team for deployment. >> we're going to have questions. chief? >> how dangerous were these? >> as you hear praise and pride, the new information, quickly four additional devices found and detonated at james lee's

residence today.

veronica has the latest on earl. >> yeah. it has decrease in the intensity but it could gain some strength. it is going through that eye replacement again. you can see the well defined eye. it kind of crashes and it is almost gone completely. going through that eye replacement. right now, a category 3 with

winds of 125 miles per hour. the last time we had tropical-related weather around here was 2008 with hanna but not since 1999 since we had a storm of this strength come up the east coast. on average they received a category 1 hurricane once every 15 years. all right. let's talk about what else is in the tropics right now. fiona, not worried about it. there is a lot of dry air. it will fall apart. then you have gaston. without the rain coming areawide, i think rag weed will continue to increase. it is moderate today. the high 90. we have a cold front. we could produce some showers tomorrow. then a few showers around the northern neck and saint mary's. there's a look at the beach forecast. rain likely, 76, the temperature with winds out of the northeast. three to 50 miles per hour. then saturday not quite as strong. we'll get the sunshine back. labor day weekend, locally, saturday, sunday, monday, we're okay but it will be breezy to windy around here.

and just a reminder, we're doing that live chat at nbcwashington.com. all weather questions, hurricane 2 on earl. still ahead, the actions of a pilot ended up getting him booted from the plane and delayed the flight for hours.

that's news4 at 4:00. news4 at 5:00 starts right now.

we're following two big stories, hurricane earl is losing steam as it approach the outer banks. we begin this evening with new information about the gunman shot and killed during yesterday's tense stand-off inside discovery channel's headquarters. good evening, everybody. welcome to news4 at 5:00. >> and i'm barbara harrison. we have team coverage from silver spring, maryland. john schriffen is live. we begin with pat collins with new insight into the four-hour ordeal. >> reporter: we're here at the silver spring fire department where the press conference is going on. public officials praising the police department, fire department for the way they handled that hostage situation yesterday. her w